Green Bean Thoran

In the winter, I thank my lucky stars for green beans. The grocery store varieties taste remarkably similar to their farmer's market cousins. (If only that were true of the tomatoes. I stay far away from them.)

On most occasions, I give beans a quick stir-fry with a dash of garlic and some salt. But during a recent trip home, my mom spoiled me with her much more full-flavored green bean thoran. Like other thorans, the dish gets much of its richness from unsweetened coconut. What makes green bean thoran really unique though is the way the beans are cut in short segments. The shape offers a little more chew and a little more give in every bite. Sounds strange, but I swear it's true.



Traditionally, the final step of the green bean thoran recipe calls for flavoring oil with mustard seeds and sauteing the steamed beans in the oil. My mom (who hates to cook, but always tends to my belly) suggested I share this more simple yet still yummy version! Enjoy!

GREEN BEAN THORAN
(COPYRIGHT 2012)

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound green beans
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 a jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 freshly ground cumin
2 tablespoons shredded unsweetened coconut
Salt to taste
Dash of turmeric
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon coconut oil or canola

INSTRUCTIONS

Pull ends off of beans.

Line four to five beans together on a cutting board.

Slice into very short segments.

Place beans, onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, coconut, salt, turmeric and water in a saucepan. Stir.

Heat on high until water begins to boil. Lower heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes. Stir.

Cook for another 3 minutes (or until water has evaporated).

Mix in oil.

Serve with white rice and yogurt.

Guest Hosting - WWC - CousCous / Broken Wheat for Dinner

Wish everyone a Very Happy New Year 2012! I know I'm a bit late. But better late than never. Believe you all celebrated new year in a great way. Starting the new year with a healthy cooking challenge, I am guest hosting Sanjeeta's Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking (WWC) for this month. The chosen grain is Couscous and for regions where couscous is not available you can go for Broken Wheat.


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Paruppu Podi / Kandi Podi / Toor Dal Powder

Paruppu podi is very often used with rice and ghee at every south Indian household especially in andhra cuisine. It is also one of the podi which is usually available at our home. My MIL usually prepares it in large quantity and grind it in mill near our home. This time, I have prepared it in a small quantity only for me and my husband.



Kandipappu podi or any kind of dal podi is very well known with vegetarian andhra meal. It is said to be that an andhra meal never completes without dal and pulusu. Sometimes, this dal is replaced by a ready to use dal powder with a dollop of ghee due to time starving (It is my guess). Thus, andhra cuisine has many podi varieties and now also you can find andhra thali is served with some dal powder.

Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Makes:  1 and 1/2 cup

Ingredients:



Toor Dal - 1 cup

Cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon

Black pepper - 1 tablespoon

Dry red chilli - 6 nos / adjust according to your spice level

Curry leaves - 2 strings

Asafoetida - a big pinch

Garlic - 1 clove (optional)

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 teaspoons



Method:



1) Take a wide pan and dry roast toor dal till it releases nice aroma and turns slight brown colour.

 

2) Transfer to a dry plate and keep aside.

3) In the same pan, add oil. when it is hot, add cumin seeds, blackpepper seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves. Roast till they are crisp.

4) Allow all the roasted ingredients to cool completely.

5) In a mixer/food processor/coffee grinder,  put all the cooled ingredients with salt and asafoetida. Make a powder.

6) Towards the end of the grinding, add garlic(if using) and finsh the grinding. The texture should be fine coarse powder.

 

7) Store it in a air tight container and serve with hot steamed rice and ghee.